I too ignore gurus and other assorted sages and big shots

This post by Wayne Bivens-Tatum on “Why I Ignore Gurus, Sherpas, Ninjas, Mavens, and Other Sages” did resonate with me. I also tend to ignore those types, or when I listen to them, I simply adapt what I need from them and toss out the rest. This is quote from the piece that really stuck with me this time:

“Based on my experience, I know the gurus’ giving advice about things I must learn is wrong. I can learn those things, and I might even benefit from that learning, but I don’t have to and will probably do just fine without learning them. I don’t follow sherpas and gurus because I prefer to go my own way. Leaders need followers, but I’m not much of either. I’ve found that it’s much easier to develop skills as I need them than to be told that some skill will benefit me because the teller has the skill and reaps benefits.”

As I wrote when I shared the link on Facebook, this is a lot of what I believe. Sure, I can lead when need be. Just because I do not have much use for a lot of leadership it does not mean I do not know how to lead. I may have mentioned elsewhere that I am a bit more a member of the Patton School of Leadership (Lead me, follow me, or get the hell out of my way). A big reason I do ignore a lot of the library gurus and big shots is this: often the advice they give is because whatever they are peddling (coding and learning HTML back in the day, and yes, back in library school, learning HTML was a big deal; or social media now) benefited them. They get benefits from peddling it (speaking engagements, book deals, fame, higher blog views and counts, followers on social media, etc.) regardless of whether what they peddle or not is good advice for you or not.

I have learned to do what works for me. As an information literacy librarian, I have learned to use the skills I teach my students of always questioning and evaluating the sources of information. Plus, I have also learned the following: You (often) improvise. You adapt. You overcome.